Report by Mark Vickery at the Darlington Arena

Darlington 1 (Hatch 5)  

Newport County 0

Attendance: 2,597

Robust Quakers edge it

PRE-MATCH THOUGHTS

Captain Gary Warren plays but Sam Foley can only make the bench so it will be interesting how we adapt to his absence.

CONDITIONS

Breezy and bright but dry throughout and pitch looked immaculate. 

SUMMING UP OUR PERFORMANCE IN ONE STATEMENT

Controlled large parts of the game but lacked cohesion in the final third to open up hosts

TURNING POINT

Collins effort hooked off the line in the second half

THE MATCH

County began their Conference Premier campaign at the impressive Darlington arena and were given warm applause by the 400 County supporters who had made the long journey. Darlington forced County back in the early minutes with County forced to concede a couple of cheap throws in after good work closing down by loan striker Richard Offiong. County dealt well with the long throws and released the ball forward quickly with Henry providing a useful outlet on the right flank. Darlington were awarded after free kick on 5 minutes on their left channel after good work again by Offiong chasing down the ball ahead of Bignot who impeded the striker. County were punished when Arnison delivered a searching cross into the area which Hatch rose strongly on brushing aside Todd and his looping header from 10 yards went in off the left post. County responded with Henry providing plenty of energy on the right flank and went close on 13 minutes when he showed his eye for a quick pass coming inside to release Reid on the right side of the area. He had time to adjust before shooting low from an acute angle but dragged his shot just past the left post from 15 yards. Darlington seemed content to absorb pressure and set out their stall to defend the 18 yard line and look for opportunities from direct play. Darlington created a good move on 20 minutes breaking efficiently down the right flank but Hone failed to keep his strike from 15 yards down after Offiong did well to set up Arnison with a cross. County continued to enjoy the better of the possession forcing a few corners on the right side but Darlington defended set pieces well and were able to clear effectively. County looked for opportunities from direct play on times with Robbie Matthews a useful outlet and he won a fair quota of headers but County were often too slow or unable to read the situation allowing Darlington off the hook. Darlington again showed their pedigree down the right flank on 27 minutes when right back Arnison overlapped to provide a good precise cross into the area which Hatch met with a firm header from 12 yards which he found difficult to keep down. Darlington rounded off a good spell on 30 minutes when County failed to clear a corner effectively and Hatch adjusted to hit a low shot from the edge of the area which Thompson read well. County continued to use the aerial prowess of striker Matthews going forward with him able to play several intelligent lay offs. On 33 minutes, Matthews caressed a good ball into the feet of Reid who got himself facing forward and elected to strike a low ambitious effort from 25 yards which the keeper Russell was well behind. On 36 minutes, Matthews again showed good feet for a target man when he held the ball up well inside the area and appeared to hauled down by Miller but the referee waved play on. Darlington held firm as half time approached keeping County at arms length with Henry pivotal in the most creative play.

Darlington had a brief spell after half time forcing County back with some direct play and went close from distance on 48 minutes. A weak County clearance by Todd was seized upon by Senior who set up Chandler for an effort from 25 yards which Thompson saved well low down. County had a good situation on 53 minutes when Austin committed a cynical foul down the middle of the pitch and received a booking for his indiscretion. Rose attempted a shot from 30 yards which was on target but the keeper was able to claim the ball with ease. Moments later as the game threatened to liven up for a time, when County had Eddie Odhiambo booked for a mistimed his challenge on Offiong. County went very close on 60 minutes with arguably the best move of the game countering well down the right channel and the switched play well from right to left with Reid setting up Henry who blasted a good effort from 12 yards which the keeper did well to tip over. County continued to dominate in terms of possession and Darlington were forced into a change soon after with Offiong being replaced by Moore up front. County maintained their drive down the right flank with Henry causing problems and they added to their corner count but Darlington were again effective in dealing with the threat. Another Darlington change followed on 67 minutes with Senior being replaced by Wright and County soon followed with Rogers being replaced by Sam Foley and Guiseppe Sole for Robbie Matthews. Darlington created a change out of nothing on 70 minutes when Hatch provided a good flick near the edge of the area for Wright but he dragged his shot wide of the right post. County were desperately unlucky on 73 minutes when a decent corner from the left side by Rose went deep and Collins read it well poking a low effort from 6 yards but it was cleared off the line. Then on 75 minutes, a patient move by County saw them force Darlington to defend deep inside their own area and Reid hit a shot on the turn from 15 yards which fizzed just past the right post. Darlington were content to sit back and run down the clock in the final 15 minutes and were strong in dealing with the second ball and gave little leeway to County down the flanks. Darlington made a late change with Hatch being replaced by Michael Smith but it was County who looked the most likely in the dying minutes with Knights replacing Bignot to give further momentum down the right flank. On 90 minutes, Collins did well to support a move in the right corner before whipping in dangerous looking cross which flashed through deep and Henry read it well but could only head into the side netting from an acute angle. County had one last chance with Foley instrumental in running at the heart of the Darlington defence and his low shot through the crowd was claimed well by the keeper.          

Thompson (7) – Had few clear-cut saves to make but made some good claim and saved low down. Kicked well throughout   

Bignot (6) – defended well in general but never really prepared to push on make things happen and looked a little jaded

Collins (8) – tackled and headed well throughout, saw plenty of the ball, distributed effectively and unlucky not to score.    

Warren (7) – did well in the air, timed his tackles and cleared well in general. marked closely on set pieces

Todd (6) – was reliable in the air but got caught a few times in slowness of distribution. Got caught out on the goal   

Odhiambo (6) – busy game, broke up play well without really put in that many tackles but offered little weight in final third.

Henry (8) – took the game but the scruff of the neck and was the most creative influence on the day. Went close several times to scoring  

Rose (5) – never really got started today, got caught in possession too often and will be disappointed with quality of set pieces             

Rogers (5) – put in fair quota of challenges, bit slow to read the play on times and failed to pick up enough of the second ball especially in the air.      

Reid (7) – had a couple of chances but did not get across his marker enough to make things happen, come alive later in the game   

Matthews (7) – worked hard, did well with headers and showed plenty of guile on the ball without support     

OPPONENTS: SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths – The back four were composed and strong in defending set pieces

Weaknesses – The midfield were dogged but lacked quality to hold the ball and very reliant on direct play to relieve pressure

Opportunities – They bypassed the midfield for much of the game and concentrated on using their talented front men

Threats – striker Hatch was robust and handful in the air, right back Arnison contributed with crosses and Odhiambo chased play down well

OFFICIALS

Mr S Duncan (8) – got most of the key decisions correct but did allow a lot of antics off the ball

MAN OF THE MATCH

Liam Hatch – got the important goal, some clever touches and positioned himself well inside the 18 yard area

IF YOU WERE DEAN HOLDSWORTH WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

I could see the intentions with the Reid – Matthews partnership up front but the balance didn’t seem to be there in the opening period. In truth, we played our best football when we concentrated on what we were good at and were successful at last year. Having said that, Robbie Matthews actually did well contesting the ball, but Darlington were always quicker sweeping up the loose ball. We showed our quality in patches today and perhaps could have been a bit more decisive in the final third but we were often reliant on Henry too much and got crowded out of it on times. On times, Darlington did look like the away side being content to sit back and we need to keep our patience and keep passing when sides block us out.